


Of Pianists and Dancers.

by IceBreeze



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Implied/Referenced Abuse, The Queen and The Guardian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 22:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6489340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceBreeze/pseuds/IceBreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After one unsuspecting night, the two of them find a refuge in music that they hadn’t known about each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Pianists and Dancers.

**Author's Note:**

> For [Neil-jjosten's](http://neil-jjosten.tumblr.com/) prompt: ‘allison the dancer+renee the pianist.’
> 
> I struggled a little bit on where to take this, so it turned out kind of long, sappy and not-particularly-well-thought-out, but I hope you like it.
> 
> [Please send me a prompt and I'll write something for you!](http://polyhymina.tumblr.com/ask)

_(Music has always been seen as the language of love, but it is not a natural instinct. It is something you find when you find love)._

The first time it came to light they had all been drinking because they felt the need to celebrate (what they were celebrating is anybodies guess, but hey, who turns down a chance to get drunk?) and were all varying levels of intoxicated. It had been in a peaceful lull in the conversation, when Dan (who was more than a little tipsy) had suddenly shoved Allison’s shoulder (making her choke as she had been halfway through swallowing) and said:

“Hey, dance for us!”

Everybody (well, the ones you could count on to give some semblance of a shit) had looked up to stare at Allison- whose facial expression seemed to be flitting between irritation and distress- and Dan, who ploughed on in all her drunken excitement:

“Don’t think I haven’t seen you when you think no-one’s watching. You’re good, and this is coming from a stripper so that’s high praise.”

Renee had been surprised at this (Allison had never told her she danced), but there had been little time before Nicky latched onto the idea like a limpet and volunteered with no lack of delight (which was probably partly due to desire to see her squirm):

“Yes, we need some entertainment here! Renee, you can play piano right? Then it’s settled!”

Renee had turned her gaze to Allison, not wanting to do anything that might make her uncomfortable, but Allison’s gaze only flickered to hers for a moment before she scowled and shoved Dan back, saying:

“Bitch, you betrayed me.”

Dan grinned at her as she leaned again Matt, throwing back a lazy:

“Ha, I have alot of money riding on this. Go make me rich, sweetie. I’ll buy you and Walker dinner.”

"Ugh, it better be fancy or I’ll make sure you regret this.”

“I’m quaking in my boots.”

Allison stood with a sigh, offering her hand to Renee with a tired smile and the words:

“Shall we perform for the peasants, my lady?”

She smiled, taking the hand and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as she was pulled to her feet, saying:

“It will be the performance of their lives.”

_(Both of them ignored the very blatant gagging in the background, because really. Nicky had no ground to stand on)._

So that found them all gathered in an empty music room, Renee sat at a piano with Allison on the ‘stage,’ whilst the rest of the group gathered around to watch. Not sure what to expect, she began to play the first keys of the songs, letting the music (soft and gentle, just like her, just like how she tried so hard to be) fill the room.

And Allison began to dance. At first, her movements are hesitant, as though she is unsure what to do (is this okay, how can she do this, has she forgotten what it’s like to perform), but after a few moments everything is forgotten but her and the music (Renee’s music) as it courses through her nerves and she can move, guided through the movements with the joy that she has long forgotten.

(At last)

Renee’s fingers move on autopilot as they glide across the keys, her gaze (and everyone else’s) focused on Allison because whatever they were expecting it certainly wasn’t this. In dance, it was like she was at home, her movements graceful and elegant with emotion and expression leaking through them in a way that refused to let your gaze wonder. Her eyes were half-shut, features peaceful as she transitioned from one move into the next, with no wasted movement and, at that moment, Renee fell a little more in love with her.

_(It was like watching a fairy; something equal parts dangerous and beautiful, luring  you further into their spell)._

When the song drew to a close, Renee found her gaze caught by Allison’s own, matching wonder filling them (alongside a good bit of, _‘did that just happen?’_ ) For a moment, just one short  moment, it felt like they were the only two in the room and they were both caught up on the knowledge that _‘we did this.’_

But then the moment is broken as the other foxes rush forward all at once, showering praises and irritated remarks all at once. Dan pulled Allison into a one armed hug, saying:

“I knew you wouldn’t let me and my hundred bucks down! Ha, we showed them all.”

Matt lifted Renee up in to the air in celebration, whooping (because he also had money on them like Dan and boy, he was glad not to lose it), whilst Nicky crowds forward shrieking:

“What the hell. That’s not fair, Dan sounded like she was talking crap and now I’ve lost so much money because for an amazon, you sure can move.”

_(Even Kevin had to admit they were good, just not in so many words._

_Renee simply smiles and laughs from her perch whilst Allison glares at them all (Nicky and Dan especially. It’s a miracle they haven’t burst into flames))._

They woke up the next morning with hangovers and the event was almost forgotten by the rest, but something had changed for Renee and Allison. They’d found something in the midst of their performance (a new understanding, or perhaps a part of themselves they’d kept hidden so long), and from that day forth, whenever they had the time they would go to an empty music room and let the music take over. It starts off as a way for them to get away- for something to do if one if them is tired, or they’re having a bad day. If they just need to get away from everyone, they would signal to the other and they would play without question.

_(It was enjoyable, because they didn’t need to talk whilst playing. They didn’t need to discuss, because they just understood each other)._

But then it became a regular thing and every day- without fail- they would slip out so they could dance and play, with no-one but each other to watch so they had peace at last. At first, all Renee played was ready made songs (hymns she loved, Allison’s favourite compositions, pieces that evoked emotions in both of them), whilst Allison would would move however felt right, but at some point Renee began to compose music of her own, little pieces that soon grew bigger  and greater. The first time she played one for Allison, the smile she recieved was so bright she felt like her heart might stop with pride and relief.

_(And love)._

With every piece, Allison’s dancing became more adventurous as she tried out various types of movements, twisting and turning in ways neither of them had known she could do. She seemed to radiate joy whilst dancing in a way that Renee had only seen a semblance of on the exy court, her entire body lighting up at the chance to feel the music.

_(Not to mention that if there was one thing Renee had learnt, it was that Allison had flexibility that could make even the strongest person tremble in awe)._

They hadn’t told anyone about their daily rendezvous in the music room, so it remained a secret between them until, one day, Neil happened across them. He walks in as they are in the midst of one of Renee’s original pieces, and because they are both absorbed in the music (and Neil can be very stealthy when he wants to), they don’t notice him. It isn’t until the room has returned to silence and he speaks, that they notice him.

“If you wanted to, the two of you could go pro. Pursue a career in music together.”

He didn’t say anything else and they were too caught off guard to reply, so he simply smiled and walked out, leaving them both shell shocked at his bold statement. They shake it off and continue on as though it hadn’t happened, because after all, how ridiculous is that notion?

_(Almost everything Neil says is bold, after all)._

But the idea didn’t leave them. Renee thought of it every day- of what it could mean for them, of what they could do, of what it meant to _her_. 

_(A life filled with sound with Allison at her side, an eternity of these special moments that felt so right, the freedom to show the world who they are)._

They don’t discuss it, until one day, during their performance, her fingers halt on the keys and silence fills the room for a short, short moment before she says:

“Pro, huh?”

Allison stopped in her dance, turning to stare at Renee for a few indecipherable minutes, before slowly making her way over to her. She slid beside her on the piano stool and they sat there in silence for a long moment, bodies touching in many places, when Allison spoke.

She spoke of how she came to dance- introduced to it by her parents when she was a child, one of their many schemes to try and whittle down her rebellious energy- and soon learnt that she was a natural at it. How she worked so hard at it, trying to become good at it (for her parents, fo her) but her parents scoffed at the activity. How they forbade her from doing it again (it was unbecoming, they said) and that simply fueled her need for it, her desire to dance. How they threatened with everything they could and she finally gave in, doing as they asked until she found her grandfather and was introduced to exy. How she hadn’t danced with others in a long time, but she never felt so at home as she did when dancing with Renee.

And in turn, Renee told her of how she hadn’t had time for music as a child, not when her birth mother’s distaste of her meant if she made her presence known she would be in for a world of pain and when she joined the gang there was no time for leisure. That it wasn’t until she’d left all that far, far behind and she had a new home, the music became a possibility. How her foster mother had introduced piano to her as a way to help the nightmares and- as she worked hard to learn it- it became something she loved. How she hadn’t played in a long time, but when playing for Allison she felt like her blood was on fire and that she was truly alive.

And after they had shared the depths of their hearts, Renee began to play softly as Allison tapped her feet, head lolling onto her shoulder as she closed her eyes and let the music wash over her.

_(Matt had been sent to find them three hours later, and he walked into the music room to find the two of them asleep at the piano. He didn’t have the heart to wake them up, so he got Dan. Who did.  
_

_The two were not amused by the disturbance)._

After that they began to post videos of their performances (recorded by Neil, who was skilled with a camera) on youtube. At first, there was nothing more than a few recurring supporters who commented on every video, but then- one day- the views skyrocketed and it seemed like every single person known to man had watched them.

In no time at all the world fell in love with them and they ended up with more views than they can count. People sent them messages, gushing and questioning to learn more, and they were absolutely _delighted_ to learn that the ones creating these phenomenons are the exy players renown for their brutality. More support came for the foxes and the two of them simultaneously, it acting as an unintentional way to advertise them. They even recieved recognition from people with power (celebrities, famous composers, the rich and interested) and performed their first live performance on a stage in Los Angeles after a game gone well.

_(Allison received one letter from her parents and they seemed to be delighted about the whole thing, if the emphasis on her disinheritance and how they refused to acknowledge any ties with her was any indicator. Her grandfather, however, was a different story)._

It isn’t until they leave Palmetto that they actually _‘go give the world a kick in the face whilst charging them for it,’_ to use Allison’s turn of phrase (she felt ‘go pro’ was too mundane), so they decided to do it in true Fox style. The two of them opened a music company with the help of a few other musicians, Allison’s prowess in this area (the connections, the money, the way she could convince someone to eat their own foot if she wanted to), and some help from Bee and Coach. They recruited people with backgrounds like their own (quite a few of whom came from Palmetto too) and used it to make a sort of second home for them, all the while paving their way to the top with their songs.

_(People began to call them ‘Muses,’ saying that the two of them together was something too perfect to be but a miracle. The two of them laughed so hard at this that they could have burst a lung, which would have been awful because getting them replaced is tricky beyond all reason)._

In what felt like a very short time, they had performed so many songs that it felt like they had become a public spectacle (which they absolutely were. The spotlight loved them almost as much as the paparazzi loved scandals), but their were still things they didn’t let other people taint. They kept songs that were just for them, things too intimate for anyone but each other.

_(Songs filled with how much she loved her. Songs filled with memories of kisses and embraces, of tears and pain, bruises and blood. Songs filled with_ you _and_ me _and_ us _, of two people so different they could be the sun and the moon but who were so right together that it put all love story’s to shame._

_They were the songs of Allison and Renee)._

Despite everything, it was still theirs and nothing would change that.

_(When the other foxes get married, they provided the entertainment (”For free, naturally. You’ll end up paying for it with all the bets you lose, anyway”), Allison dancing in a dress fit for the fae whilst Renee plays, flowers coating the piano and her hair as they highlight the sense of magic present at the events. The bride and the groom (groom and groom, bride and bride, and- as Allison says will probably happen eventually- groom and exy racquet) are only the second most coveted sight at these times._

_At their own wedding, Renee plays a song that she wrote especially for Allison, and this time, Allison doesn’t dance as she plays. Instead, she sits beside her so she can listen fully and give herself over to her music. Later, when someone else is sat at the piano, it is the first time Renee dances with Allison and she finds herself being reminded how easily she is drawn in by her, able to see the joy and beauty and grace that radiated of her so much easier by her side than any spectator ever would. It is the the first time of what would become many, and it is exhilarating for the both of them. If they need to steal away for a private moment, nobody reacts to it more than to exchange money under the table.  
_

_At their own wedding, music is what fills the air rather than mindless chatter, because music is what both their hearts yearn for)._

**Author's Note:**

> Can be found on [tumblr.](http://polyhymina.tumblr.com/writings)


End file.
